Video Download Link Crawler

Extract downloadable video URLs from YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Dailymotion, and 1,000+ other websites. Get every available quality option — from 360p to 4K — along with rich metadata, thumbnails, and subtitle URLs. Powered by yt-dlp for maximum platform compatibility.

No coding required. Paste URLs, configure quality preferences, and get structured JSON output ready for your workflow.

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What is Video Download Link Crawler?

This actor extracts direct download URLs for videos hosted on any supported platform. Instead of scraping HTML manually or wrestling with platform APIs, you get a clean, structured JSON record for every video — with all available quality options, metadata, and optional subtitle tracks.

It is the only general-purpose video link extractor on Apify that covers all major platforms in a single tool. Whether you need one video or 500, this actor handles batches with rate limiting and retries built in.

Key capabilities:

• Multi-platform: YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, Dailymotion, and 1,000+ sites via yt-dlp
• All quality options per video: 360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p, 1440p, 4K, and audio-only
• Rich metadata: title, duration, uploader, view count, like count, upload date
• Thumbnail URL extraction
• Optional subtitle/caption URL extraction (VTT format, 60+ languages)
• YouTube search integration — search terms → download links in one step
• Direct MP4/WebM URL support with file size from HEAD requests
• Structured error codes for every failure mode

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What Can It Extract?

Field	Description
url	Original source URL
platform	Platform name (youtube, vimeo, tiktok, etc.)
title	Video title
duration	Duration in seconds
durationFormatted	Human-readable (e.g., 3:33)
uploader	Channel/creator name
uploaderUrl	Link to channel or profile
viewCount	Total view count
likeCount	Like count
uploadDate	Upload date (YYYY-MM-DD)
thumbnail	Thumbnail image URL
formats[].quality	Quality label (1080p, 720p, audio_only, etc.)
formats[].resolution	Pixel dimensions (1920x1080)
formats[].fps	Frames per second
formats[].videoCodec	Video codec
formats[].audioCodec	Audio codec
formats[].container	Container format (mp4, webm)
formats[].fileSizeApprox	Approximate file size in bytes
formats[].fileSizeFormatted	Human-readable size (50.0 MB)
formats[].url	Direct download URL
formats[].isPreferred	Whether this matches your preferred quality
preferredFormat	Summary of your preferred quality
subtitles	Subtitle URLs per language (when enabled)
drm	Whether video has DRM protection
error	Error code if extraction failed

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How to Use

Option 1: Extract from Video URLs

1. Open the actor and click Start
2. In the Video URLs field, add one URL per line:

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
   https://vimeo.com/148751763
   https://www.tiktok.com/@user/video/123456
   

3. Set your Preferred Quality (default: best — highest available)
4. Click Save & Run

Option 2: YouTube Search

1. Leave URLs blank
2. Enter search terms in YouTube Search Terms:

   nature documentary 4K
   javascript tutorial 2024
   

3. Set Max Videos Per Search Term (default: 10, max: 100)
4. Run — the actor searches YouTube and extracts download links for all results

Zero-Config Run

Run with no input at all. The actor uses a default YouTube URL and extracts all available formats — a great way to preview the output format before configuring your real inputs.

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Pricing

$2.60 per 1,000 videos extracted (Pay-Per-Event).

Pricing includes all platform compute costs — no hidden fees.

You are charged per video where at least one downloadable format URL is successfully extracted. Failed extractions — private videos, deleted videos, unsupported URLs — are never charged.

Free tier: first 200 videos per month are free.

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Input and Output Examples

Input — single video:

{
  "urls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"],
  "preferredQuality": "1080p",
  "includeAllFormats": true,
  "includeMetadata": true
}

Output record:

{
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "platform": "youtube",
  "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Music Video)",
  "duration": 213,
  "durationFormatted": "3:33",
  "uploadDate": "2009-10-25",
  "uploader": "Rick Astley",
  "viewCount": 1500000000,
  "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dQw4w9WgXcQ/maxresdefault.jpg",
  "formats": [
    {
      "formatId": "137+140",
      "quality": "1080p",
      "resolution": "1920x1080",
      "fps": 30,
      "videoCodec": "avc1.640028",
      "audioCodec": "mp4a.40.2",
      "container": "mp4",
      "fileSizeApprox": 52428800,
      "fileSizeFormatted": "50.0 MB",
      "url": "https://...",
      "isPreferred": true
    }
  ],
  "preferredFormat": {
    "quality": "1080p",
    "url": "https://...",
    "container": "mp4",
    "fileSizeApprox": 52428800
  },
  "drm": false,
  "audioAvailable": true,
  "error": null,
  "scrapedAt": "2026-03-11T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Input — batch with search:

{
  "searchTerms": ["open source tools 2024"],
  "maxVideosPerSearch": 5,
  "preferredQuality": "720p",
  "includeSubtitles": true
}

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Related Tools by Junipr

• YouTube Transcript Extractor — Extract full transcripts, captions, and timed segments from YouTube videos. Supports 60+ languages and SRT/VTT/JSON output.
• Website to RSS — Convert any website or blog into an RSS feed for monitoring and automation.

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FAQ

How much does it cost to extract video download links?

$2.60 per 1,000 videos where download links are successfully extracted. The first 200 videos per month are free. You are never charged for failed extractions, private videos, deleted videos, or URLs that contain no video.

Which platforms are supported?

YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, Reddit, and 1,000+ additional sites via yt-dlp. Direct MP4, WebM, MOV, AVI, MKV, and other video file URLs are also supported. Check the yt-dlp supported sites list for the full catalog.

Can I extract videos in 4K quality?

Yes. When a platform offers 4K (2160p) formats, they appear in the formats array with quality: "2160p". Set preferredQuality to best to automatically select the highest available quality. Note: 4K is only available for videos where the creator uploaded a 4K source.

Are the download URLs permanent?

No. Most platforms use rotating CDN URLs with expiration tokens (typically 6–24 hours for YouTube). The urlExpiry field is populated when the expiry time is detectable. You should download files promptly after extraction, not store URLs for later use.

Does this download the actual video file?

No. This actor extracts the download URLs only — it does not download, store, or redistribute video files. What you do with the URLs is up to you. This design keeps the actor fast, lightweight, and within Apify's storage limits.

Is it legal to extract video download links?

This actor extracts publicly available stream URLs — it does not circumvent DRM, authentication walls, or access controls. However, video downloading is legally complex and platform-specific. YouTube's Terms of Service prohibit downloading content without permission. Users are responsible for ensuring they have the rights to download and use the content they extract. This tool is intended for personal archiving, research, and content you have rights to. Always check the target platform's Terms of Service before use.